Oil Tankers

US seizes 6th sanctioned oil tanker as pressure on Venezuela mounts

US forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader US effort to take control of the South American country's oil. The US Coast Guard boarded the tanker, named Veronica, early Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media. The ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump's "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean, she said. US Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized without incident. Several US government social media accounts posted brief videos that appeared to show various parts of the ship's capture. Black-and-white footage showed at least four helicopte

How a sanctioned oil tanker nearly sparked a US‑Russia clash

An old, rusting oil tanker drifting across the Atlantic almost triggered a confrontation between the United States and Russia. The tanker Bella 1, later renamed Marinera, was part of a “shadow fleet”

Russia's secret oil ships: How shadow tankers evade the West's watch

In order to avoid tracking, many of these ships turn off their automatic identification system, disappearing from standard maritime monitoring

Russia harshly condemns US seizure of oil tanker, warns of rise in tensions

Russia has strongly condemned the US seizure of an oil tanker, heralding a new chill in relations between Moscow and Washington that could spread to other areas and affect President Donald Trump's efforts to persuade Russia to end its nearly four-year war in Ukraine. The seizure Wednesday of the Russian-flagged tanker in the North Atlantic "can only lead to a further escalation of military and political tensions in the Euro-Atlantic region, as well as a visible lowering of the threshold for the use of force' against peaceful shipping, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn't yet commented on the seizure of the tanker and has remained silent about the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicols Maduro, which his diplomats have denounced as a blatant act of aggression. But while the Russian president has avoided any criticism of Trump, the seizure of the tanker by the US military represents a new challenge for the Kremlin. Hawkish commentators in Moscow .

UK backs US in seizing Russian oil tanker with military support

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to President Donald Trump after the UK armed forces provided enabling support for the American seizure of a Russian-flagged oil tanker, stopped in the North Atlantic by the US Coast Guard. They (Starmer and Trump) discussed the joint operation to intercept the Bella 1' as part of shared efforts to crack down on sanctions busting, recent progress on Ukraine and the US operation in Venezuela, a Downing Street statement said of the Wednesday evening call. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the UK responded to the US request for assistance with its operation by deploying Royal Air Force (RAF) surveillance aircraft and Royal Navy support ship RFA Tideforce'. Defence Secretary John Healey said Britain's support for the pre-planned action was in full compliance with international law and reiterated that the UK-US defence and security relationship is the deepest in the world". Marinera', a Venezuelan-linked tanker previously known as Bella 1', was

More oil tankers turn away from Venezuela amid US threat to seize vessels

As part of Trump's pressure campaign, US forces have launched strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats that have killed more than 100 people, and seized two oil tankers

Best of BS Opinion: NCLT courts must fix institutional gaps

From tribunal capacity and procedural certainty to tanker seizures that could hit India's economy, today's Best of BS Opinion also looks at Budget-impact laws, AI agents, and a book on sanctions

Shipping rates surge 467% on conflicts, sanctions, supply disruptions

Vessels are spending more time at sea transporting cargo, contributing to the spike, and several shipping executives expect tightness in the broader market to continue

Two tankers catch fire in Black Sea after being struck, crew safe: Turkey

Two tankers were struck and caught fire in the Black Sea, Turkish authorities reported, prompting rescue operations. Crew members on board both vessels were reported to be safe. The OpenSanctions database, which tracks people or organisations involved in sanctions evasion, described the vessels as shadow fleet or vessels used to evade sanctions imposed on Russia following its 2022 invasion of Russia. Turkey's Directorate General of Maritime Affairs said the first tanker, the Gambian-flagged Kairos, caught fire in the Black Sea, approximately 45 km off the coast of Turkey's Kocaeli province. It blamed on the fire on an external impact, without providing details. The Kairos was sailing empty toward Russia's Novorossiysk port, it said. Within the hour, the maritime authority reported that a second tanker, Virat, was struck while sailing in the Black Sea about 35 nautical miles off the Turkish coast. It did not provide further details. Rescue teams were dispatched to the scene to pro

Oil tanker with cargo from curb-hit Rosneft idles off Mumbai coast

The oil market has zeroed in on Russia's export patterns, as well as Indian purchasing, after the US sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil PJSC on October 22

Yemen's Houthi rebels launch missile that lands near oil tanker in Red Sea

Yemen's Houthi rebels said Monday they launched a missile at an oil tanker off the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, potentially renewing their attacks targeting shipping through the crucial global waterway. Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for the launch in a prerecorded message aired on al-Masirah, a Houthi-controlled satellite news channel. He alleged the vessel, the Scarlet Ray, had ties to Israel. The ship's owners could not be immediately reached. The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre, which monitors Mideast shipping, earlier reported a ship heard a splash and a bang off its side near Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. From November 2023 to December 2024, the Houthis targeted more than 100 ships with missiles and drones over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. In their campaign so far, the Houthis have sank four vessels and killed at least eight mariners. The Iranian-backed Houthis stopped their attacks durin

Scrapping of US-sanctioned tanker in India shows dark fleet pain

Contract II, a decades-old tanker linked to Iran sanctions, was sold at a discount and dismantled in Alang, India, amid tighter enforcement and rising risks for ageing dark fleet vessels

Oil tankers going dark off Malaysia amid Iran-China trade scrutiny

Over recent months, more vessels have started switching off their transponders as they near waters off eastern Malaysia, a hotspot for the transfer of Iranian oil to China

India to invest $10 billion in homegrown oil tanker fleet by 2040

The purchase order for 10 tankers should come out as early as this month, the people said. Only ships built locally - even if there's foreign collaboration - will be considered for purchase

Germany calls Russian oil tanker adrift in Baltic Sea threat to security

An oil tanker believed to be part of Russia's efforts to evade sanctions went adrift and had to be towed by a German tugboat on Friday in what Germany's foreign minister called a danger to security and tourism in the Baltic Sea. The Panamanian-flagged Eventin was believed to be carrying 99,000 tons of oil from Russia en route to Egypt when it went adrift for several hours north of the German island of Rugen. The Bremen Fighter tugboat was deployed to pull the ship into a harbour, and there was no immediate danger to the environment, the German news agency dpa said. Greenpeace says that Eventin belongs to a so-called Russian shadow fleet, which is made up of hundreds of aging tankers that are dodging sanctions in order to keep oil revenue flowing into the Russian state budget. The sanctions were imposed after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that the incident shows that Russia is endangering European security not only with its w

Finland seizes Russian 'Shadow Fleet'-linked oil tanker over cable sabotage

Finland and European Union link undersea cable sabotages in the Baltic to Russian 'Shadow Fleet', announce sanctions

Of ships and tankers: India, refiners not breaking international sanctions

A US official involved in compliance said 'General Licence 93' allowed India to receive vessels owned by a sanctioned entity, Russian state behemoth Sovcomflot, which ships the bulk of India's oil

Attempts on to salvage oil tanker blown up by Yemen's Houthi rebels

A new attempt has begun to try to salvage an oil tanker burning in the Red Sea after attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels, a European Union naval mission said Saturday. The EU's Operation Aspides published images dated Saturday of its vessels escorting ships heading to the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion. The mission has been actively involved in this complex endeavour, by creating a secure environment, which is necessary for the tugboats to conduct the towing operation, the EU said. A phone number for the mission rang unanswered Saturday. The Sounion came under attack from the Houthis beginning August 21. The vessel had been staffed by a crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians, as well as four private security personnel, who were taken by a French destroyer to nearby Djibouti. The Houthis later planted explosives aboard the ship and detonated them. That's led to fears the ship's 1 million barrels of crude oil could spill into the Red Sea. The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels wi

Greek-flagged ship on fire from Aug 23 post Houthi attack: EU naval mission

Houthis, who control Yemen's most populous regions, said on Thursday that they attacked the Sounion oil tanker in the Red Sea

French destroyer rescues mariners from tanker stricken in Red Sea attacks

A French destroyer rescued 29 mariners from an oil tanker that came under repeated attack in the Red Sea, officials said Thursday, while also destroying a bomb-carrying drone boat in the area. Yemen's Houthi rebels are suspected to have carried out the assault on the Sounion. The attack, the most serious in the Red Sea in weeks, comes during a monthslong campaign by Houthis targeting ships over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip that has disrupted a trade route through which $1 trillion in cargo typically passes each year. The Sounion is now at anchor in the Red Sea and no longer drifting, the European Union's Operation Aspides said. However, it wasn't clear if the vessel was still ablaze. The vessel had been staffed by a crew of Filipinos and Russians. Military officials did not name the French destroyer involved in the rescue. In the attack Wednesday, men on small boats first opened fire with small arms about 140 km (90 miles) west of the rebel-held Yemeni port city of Hodeid